Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Excavations and ground penetrating radar at Gore Place in Waltham, Massachusetts, examined the original 1793 carriage house site, the 1806 greenhouse, and the greenhouse/carriage house well, all associated with Christopher and Rebecca Gore. The carriage house was moved in 1968, and its cellar was filled at that time. Mechanical removal of the fill in a portion of the carriage house cellar revealed that the lower portion of at least the rear (north) foundation wall is well preserved along with the cellar floor. Documentary evidence indicated that the carriage house cellar had been used for manure (compost) preparation, while the ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Archaeogeophysical surveys were carried out in October 2010 over a 30 x 50 m grid that was established immediately to the north and west of the north end of the Great Friends Meeting House (GFMH) in Newport, RI. The surveys were conducted using a Geonics EM-38 RT ground conductivity meter and a Malå X3M Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system that was equipped with 500 and 800 MHz antennas. In addition, a resistance survey was performed over a much smaller central area using a Geoscan RM15 resistance meter. From this work three types of geophysical anomalies have been identified: those associated ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

An archaeogeophysical survey was carried out in May 2010 using Geonics EM-38 RT and a Malå Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system with a 500 MHz antenna over an 28x26 m grid immediately northeast of the Loring-Greenough house in Jamaica Plain, MA. Three major anomalies were identified. These anomalies have not been ground truthed, but they appear to be archaeological features. First, we suggest that there is builders trench just north of the house. Second, we suggest that there could be three east-west garden paths or other landscape features about 30 cm below the surface crossing the entire length of the ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Research on the Waite-Kirby-Potter house in Westport, Massachusetts, included mapping historical resources visible on the surface and excavating 25 test pits and units near the house foundations in the fall of 2009. Field investigations were complemented by extensive documentary research including a complete chain of title and genealogical research on the three families who have owned the property between the late 17th century and the present. The visible historical features include elements associated with the former stone ender (the standing stone end and chimney, an adjacent brick chimney, and a stone-lined cellar hole), stone walls, a 19th-century barn foundation, a ...

Archaeological Site Examination Of The Field East Of The Grapery/Greenhouse, Drive Circle, Straight Walk, And South Lawn At Gore Place, Waltham, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Christa M. Beranek, John M. Steinberg

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

A landscape restoration plan for the 45-acre historic estate of Massachusetts governor and United States senator, Christopher Gore and his wife Rebecca, recommended archaeological investigations to identify the location, character, and integrity of Gore-period features that could potentially be included in restoration efforts. Investigations began in 2004, focusing on better known landscape elements including the carriage drive, carriage house foundation, greenhouse, vegetable and flower gardens, and the site of the grapery/fruitwall (Smith and Dubell 2006). The 2008 investigations focused on the new site of the carriage house (reported under separate cover) and on lesser known elements of the estate ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

In collaboration with the Museum of African American History, an archaeological research team from the University of Massachusetts Boston carried out a data recovery excavation at the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill. The African Meeting House was a powerful social institution for 19thcentury Boston’s free black community. The site played an important role in the abolition movement, the creation of educational opportunity, and other community action for social and political equality. The Meeting House was originally built in 1806, and renovations in preparation for the 2006 bi-centennial celebration prompted an investigation of areas of the property to be ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Alandscape restoration plan for the 45-acre Gore Place property in Waltham and Watertown, MA, calls for restoration of grounds, gardens and structures to depict and interpret the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century occupation of Massachusetts governor and United States senator, Christopher Gore, and his wife, Rebecca. The restoration plan includes archaeological investigation to help identify the location and integrity of six historically documented features on the Gore Place grounds. Blocks and transects of shovel test pits at 5, 10 and 20 meter intervals along with 1 x 1 m excavation units and trenching were employed in the archaeological site examination ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

The Center for Cultural and Environmental History conducted a Phase I archaeological intensive survey of the Hassanamesitt Woods property in Grafton, Massachusetts from October 2004 through January 2005. Documentary evidence has suggested that the property may contain remains of the church for the Praying Indian village of Hassanamisco, established by John Eliot in 1660. Historical deed research has also placed several Nipmuc families on the property in the early 18th century, suggesting the area was resettled by the original inhabitants of Hassanimisco in the aftermath of King Philip's War. Throughout the course of the 18th and 19th centuries the ...

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

A phased program of stabilization and restoration for the Loring-Greenough House and property located in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston, MA, called for reconstruction of porches, construction of an entrance walk and new foundations for the carriage house. This program also included landscaping and rehabilitation of garden plantings in the north yard. Archaeological testing was conducted to identify cultural resources that would be impacted by the proposed project and to search for evidence of early garden features that could be used to guide landscape restoration. The first phase of research focused on house porches, walkway installation and foundation work ...